"Have you considered my suggestion that we test Wraith feeding capabilities on something other than a human?" Jennifer asked the following morning while they sat across from one another at the small dining table. Guide was not eating, of course, but his presence there had become so regular that Jennifer no longer felt awkward being the only one to eat. It seemed an appropriate time to bring up their earlier conversation, regardless of how poorly it had gone before.
Guide issued a small grunt and tilted his head, obviously uncomfortable.
"It...is an option worth pursuing," he relented finally, though he frowned as he said it. "But we must take care to select a proper substitute. After our discussion, I spent some time researching on my own, and it would seem that my kind has dabbled in this area before. I cannot fathom why, since we have always been the dominant race and had no reason to consider non-human options before now..." He noticed that Jennifer had stopped eating, and got his words back on track. "I found that certain species of...animals...as you call them, have evolved natural defenses against the Wraith feeding enzyme. Some have even the capability to poison their attackers."
"So you'll need to find a Wraith willing to feed and potentially die for the cause."
"Why don't we focus on testing the life form in question prior to asking one of my crew to feed upon it." His eyes darkened. Humans had a way of asking Wraith to sacrifice themselves far more often than Guide would have preferred. "Unless, of course, you would like to volunteer your own services, Jennifer."
Confused, the woman cocked her head to one side.
"I'm not sure what you mean..."
"I must admit, your ability to conceal the truth from me is admirable, but you have wasted much of my time in doing so. Your blood sample told me everything I needed to know." Guide's stare was intense as they faced one another across the table.
"Please, explain," Jennifer asked quietly, genuinely curious.
"I'm still uncertain as to how your condition slipped past me, but I surmise it has something to do with interference from the Atlantean gene therapy. It is the only explanation short of some...involvement...with a Wraith, and I strongly assume you took on no such role."
Frustrated by his lack of clarity, Jennifer clanged the utensil in her hand onto the plate.
"What the hell are you talking about? What condition?"
"The fact that you are Wraithkin, Doctor Kell-err. To what else could I be referring?" The Wraith commander retrieved a piece of fruit from her plate and toyed with it absently.
"Me? Wraithkin? You mean like Teyla?"
Guide nodded.
"I'm not even from this galaxy, how can I have Wraith DNA?" Jennifer's incredulousness was palpable, and for a moment Guide thought she was genuine.
"I wondered much the same, Doctor. Do tell, please."
Jennifer had no response. There was no plausible way she could be Wraithkin, but she doubted Guide would waste time making up such a story. She pushed her chair back and stood up from the table, her companion following suit.
"I have no symptoms of such a condition," the doctor declared finally, beginning to pace. "I have no visions, no extra-sensory perception of approaching Wraith, I cannot possess the mind of a Wraith..." Trailing off, she stopped and looked at him, her eyes lighting up. "You healed me. Guide, that has to be it."
He shook his head.
"Wraith pass on their genetics much as humans do. They cannot be transmitted by something so insignificant as the healing process."
"Then how did this happen to me?"
Sensing her concern, Guide tried to calm her.
"You will notice no ill-effects of the gene, Doctor Kell-err," he said coolly, walking around the table to stand a few feet in front of her. "This obviously occurred some time ago, perhaps even years ago, and as far as I can see, you are still alive and well."
Jennifer blew out a breath and felt some of the tension leave her body at his words.
"I suppose you're right," she admitted finally. "Figuring out how this happened is not our top priority right now." Guide looked at her and smiled.
"It's time to go hunting."
Propelled through the stargate at impossible speed, Jennifer's body tumbled down the stone steps and she landed with a hefty thud on top of her supply bag. Guide was standing a few feet away, watching her with what might have been amusement, along with Bonewhite and two Drones. None of them made any move to help her up, a fact for which she was actually grateful. She brushed the dirt off her ragged uniform and hoisted the bag onto her back.
"Kind of you to drop in, Doctor," Guide mocked from where he stood, and Jennifer shot him a death glare. "Please try to be more cautious with your footing from here on out." He held out an arm and gestured that she approach and walk beside him. Bonewhite took up the rear while the two Drones flanked them, their weapons sweeping strategically from one area to the next.
Every so often Guide would look down at his stolen (and slightly modified) life-signs detector. This planet was home to a number of species, at least one of which was known to be toxic to the Iratus bug. It was this species they intended to capture, and whose toxicity they intended to analyze.
They had been walking for several miles when Guide gave the command to halt. The group was silent as their commander studied the screen on his wrist.
"There is a group of the carnivores not far ahead. Ready your weapons."
Jennifer, of course, had no weapon, but the other members of the group did as they were commanded. The low hum of Wraith tech sent a chill through her body, and she tried to remind herself that she was not the enemy here. Those guns were not pointed at her.
Gradually they made their way to the top of the ridge, Jennifer's footsteps noticeably louder than the others, but they said nothing against it. Her heart stopped when she looked down into the ravine below.
Four enormous black beasts the size of a small horse stood at the base, one of them sipping water from the stream. Each had four legs and a large, cat-like head, and thick, spined scales covered the upper half of their bodies. At the end of their tails was a scorpion-like barb, each of them twitching violently, as though anticipating the threat from above, though they gave no indication they did.
"Move behind me," Guide whispered to Jennifer as he pulled out his stun bars. When she was safely out of range, he slammed the bars together and the characteristic blue light swept out in waves down the ravine. The beasts at the bottom snapped to attention with a series of growls, while the group at the top of the ridge waited for the weapon to hit them. It passed over the creatues—and did nothing.
Guide gave the order to open fire, and the group took off down the ridge. High-pitched screams ripped from the throats of the monsters below, and they bolted for the opposite side of the ravine. Their scales clacked and rattled as they moved, impossibly fast, through the dense treecover. Guide fired his weapon and managed to strike a leg, and another scream tore from the animal as its now useless limb failed to take hold of the ground. It collapsed into a barrel roll back toward the creek behind them, its great body taking out one of the Drones along the way. Pierced through the midsection multiple times by the spines and now attached to the injured animal, the Drone gargled and floundered for just an instant before detaching and lying still against a trunk.
The group leapt over the dead Drone without a second thought and pursued the fallen monstrosity until it came to a stop at the water's edge. Disoriented, it stumbled to three legs and shook its head, wailing in fury when it laid eyes on its attackers.
Bonewhite took another shot at the beast, this time with a sedation bullet. Enraged, the black leviathan plowed through the other Drone in its attempt to get at Bonewhite. Its barbed tail thrashed wildly, striking at anything and everything, and Jennifer heard Bonewhite cry out as the barb slashed against his leg. Another sedation bullet struck the creature in the neck. It staggered again, but did not go down. Guide shouted at Bonewhite to keep firing, and then at Jennifer to pull the chains from her supply bag. She did so, hardly able to lift them without Guide's help, and together they threw the heavy net onto their prey. Under the massive weight, its legs buckled and it crashed to the moist earth.
Its breathing was labored and the wound on its leg bled profusely, but it was alive. Jennifer looked at Guide and raised an eyebrow. The mission had been a success.
A/N: So, once again, thank you to all my reviewers! The next few chapters may seem a bit dry and overly fluffy, for which I apologize, but these two need to have some serious talks somewhere around here, right? Or...SOMETHING important needs to happen...what ever shall it be...? Dun dun dun...